Progress on 520, not without controversy

92nd Ave Interchange
The 92nd Avenue Northeast interchange features a one-lane roundabout to help drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians safely and efficiently navigate local streets and the SR 520 highway off-ramp.

If you drive on 520 you can see that progress is being made, or at least that there is a lot of construction activity. The start of construction was a shock to many people, particularly the removal of the trees necessary to do the work widening and moving the landing in Medina about 200′ north of the current landing.

The caption on the drawing above was written by WSDOT and is part of the controversy referenced below the jump in this post.

Contracts have been let on both the Eastside portion and the floating portion. We still have financing work to do on the Westside portion – the funds are in hand to do the first two portions, so we are moving ahead. The Seattle Times reported that the State Treasurer believes that if the Eyman initiative (I-1125) this year about tolling passes that we will not be able to finance even this part, as the bond market does not respond well to non-standard toll-setting authority. (article here)

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520 Update

The Eastside project (405 to the landing in Medina) is underway. They are removing some trees now and expect to continue to do work for the next few years. If you go to the project website you can sign up for newsletters which will alert you to closures and other useful bits of knowledge.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520Bridge/

I’ll continue to track the progress of this project.

Tolling

The vendor we hired to implement the tolling on the 520 bridge did not do a very good job, and WSDOT wisely delayed turning on the collection system until they could get the kinks worked out. I am disappointed in the outcome, but pleased that they delayed until it works. I’m also a little frustrated about how the tolling system was designed, but I don’t get to be in charge of everything in the world, which is probably fortunate.

You will need to have a “Good To Go” tag on your car to pay the lowest toll. The following website has info on how to do this:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Tolling/520tolling.htm

I would expect the tolling to start up in June or July, and it takes a couple of weeks to get the tags, so you may want to get started now. I would prefer to not have tolls on the bridge, but there is no other way we can pay for a new bridge.

520 Lid design at 84th

There is finally an agreed-upon design for the 84th St. interchange with 520. This has been remarkably contentions and WSDOT has gone to great lengths to come up with something that works, or at least that people think will work.

WSDOT requests proposals for SR 520 floating bridge

Three teams compete for $600 million to $750 million contract

SEATTLE – The clock starts today for three prequalified teams who want to design and build the new SR 520 floating bridge, estimated to cost $600 million to $750 million. The new bridge will replace the existing vulnerable floating bridge with a six-lane facility that will help improve travel between Seattle and Redmond.

The teams have until spring 2011 to submit their bids and proposals for the new floating bridge. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will review the proposals and select the winning design-build team in mid-2011. Construction will begin in 2012, and the new bridge will open by the end of 2014.

The prequalified teams are Flatiron-Skanska-Traylor Joint Venture, SR 520 Corridor Constructors (Walsh Construction Company, PCL Construction Services and Weeks Marine) and Kiewit-General-Manson Joint Venture. WSDOT selected teams based on statements of qualification submitted in October.

“Seeking proposals is an important step toward our goal – replacing this vulnerable bridge so we can continue to serve commuters and commerce every day,” state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said. “We expect these world-class teams to show how they will design and build a new floating bridge that meets our schedule and budget.”

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520 Groundbreaking

On Monday we dug a ceremonial set of shovels into the ground for the eastside portion of the 520 project. A contractor has been selected, the bid has been accepted (saved $116 million, about 25% under estimates) and the project will get under way.

The reality here is that they’ll start real construction in the spring, when we normally start big digging projects, but we have removed all the impediments to the project at this point.

We still have work to do to both close down the design and cement the funding for the west landing, from Foster Island to I-5. We are very close here, having approved Option A+ in the original set of options. We’re exploring details with King County and the City of Seattle at this point – arboretum exits, bus stops, etc.

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520 Construction Bid Awarded!

The contract for the Eastside portion of the 520 project has been approved! We are expecting to start moving dirt “real soon now,” with significant construciton starting in the Spring.

Eastside Corridor Constructors tops list for SR 520 Eastside project

$306.3 million to design and rebuild SR 520 corridor from Medina to Bellevue

 SEATTLE – The bids are open and the scores tallied for the SR 520 Eastside Transit and HOV Project, and the Eastside Corridor Constructors joint venture team has emerged with the apparent best value proposal.

 Eastside Corridor Constructors (ECC) bid price of $306.3 million is nearly $116 million less than the state’s $422 million estimate for the project. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) plans to award the contract to ECC within a few weeks.

 “This project provides family wage jobs that are vital to our state’s economic recovery during these tough times,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire. “And this project helps ensure that the absolutely crucial 520 corridor, which provides access to some of our state’s largest job centers, remains safe and reliable for decades to come.”

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520 Bridge Progress Update

I received an update this week from WSDOT on the progress of the 520 project. The project is a big deal for the entire region – it will significantly improve the congestion situation and will make transit function vastly more effectively. For example, we expect the project to take 45 minutes out of the transit trip from Redmond to Seattle in the afternoon commute. 45 minutes.

520 Project map

For more info on the project and the timeslines you should check out the info they sent – it’s actually reasonably succinct. We expect construction to start in early 2011. Click here for the WSDOT page describing the project. You can subscribe to their updates if you want, but why would you when I forward the interesting ones to you anyway?

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Wondering about the square signs over 520?

WSDOT sent me an interesting email this morning. “Smarter Highways” is a federal program that the feds are actually paying for. It’s supposed to make the system work more smoothly. I understand the State Patrol will actually enforce the speed limit on the signs, so it’s worth figuring out how they work.

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WSDOT will activate Smarter Highways on northbound I-5 between Boeing Access Road and I-90 on Tuesday, August 10.

 The overhead, electronic signs will automatically alert drivers to change lanes when an incident blocks traffic ahead or to adjust their speed before they reach slower-moving traffic. It will help reduce rear-end collisions, allow for earlier escape to alternate routes and smooth lane shifting caused by incidents like stalls or collisions.

WSDOT is working with Washington State Patrol to ensure that drivers are prepared to follow the signs that will appear over each lane of traffic on sign bridges spaced about a half mile apart:

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Viaduct Replacement Tunnel Angst

I spent an hour with The Stranger in an endorsement review last week and was astounded at the amount of time they spent on the McGinn-led hysteria about the tunnel project. I’ve talked to a couple of Seattle people since and they are all atwitter about it.

The big question to me was “who pays for overruns?” The answer is pretty clear – it’s a state project, run by WSDOT. Who do you think? The state will pay for overruns, so we should manage this carefully so there aren’t any. I agreed with them that property owners who will benefit hugely when they viaduct comes down should create a “Local Improvement District” and help pay for the project, particularly the city part creating the waterfront park.

The angst over the design baffles me though. I understand McGinn doesn’t want cars anywhere near Seattle, but we have 100,000+ cars a day on that road. If they don’t go there, they’ll come to I5 and I405. I’m not interested in turning 405 into a worse parking lot than it already is.

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WSDOT announces preferred alternative for SR 520 floating bridge project

Last week WSDOT announced the preferred alternative for the 520 bridge. This is one of the magic steps in the 520 design/contruuction process and is a major milestone. It’s not perfect, but it’s vastly better than no bridge at all. In general I’m pleased with it – we get most of what we wanted.

I’ve attached their press release with some of the major features listed. For lots and lots more information you can visit the website www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/SR520Bridge.

The remaining task is to identify the funding for the last part of it. I would expect that this will include some revenue from tolling the I-90 bridge as we get further into the construction. Tolls on 520 will turn I-90 into a parking lot without a balanced tolling approach. We have to consider the lake crossing as a single corridor. I’m not excited about tolls, but don’t see a way to avoid them as we try to get a new bridge built.

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SR 520 Bridge Status Update

The Department of Transportation sends out a regular update on what’s going on. Here’s their update from today celebrating the signing of the 520 bill yesterday at Bellevue City Hall.

Eastside improvements can move ahead: Gov. Gregoire and state Legislature allow bridge tolls to be spent in the SR 520 corridor

We’re now a big step closer to building transit/HOV lanes and making major improvements on SR 520 on the Eastside. On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed legislation (ESSB 6392) that allows toll revenue collected on the SR 520 floating bridge to be used for improvements within the SR 520 corridor from I-5 in Seattle to SR 202 in Redmond.

State law approved in 2009 allowed the funds to be spent on only a replacement SR 520 floating bridge. State law needed to be changed so toll revenue could finance both a replacement SR 520 floating bridge and start construction on improvements east of Medina to help commuters and the environment.

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